Chapter 208: Learn math, physics, and chemistry, and you need not fear anywhere

Back already?

Water, do you have water? I'm dying of thirst on the way!

Sixth Company, Ma Qing'an returned to the office panting.

He picked up the teapot He Zhen Tao handed over and gulped it down.

After summer began, the weather grew hotter and the temperature kept rising.

Just going out to handle a few things left him soaked in sweat, making Ma Qing'an miserable.

Ah!

Ma Qing'an drank all the water in the teapot in one go.

He wiped his mouth with his sleeve, then stood under the electric fan for a while before he recovered.

What's the situation on the drill field?

What what situation?

Don't play dumb, I'm asking about Kang Changyi—why is he dragging a tire and crawling alone on the track?

Ma Qing'an came to the window; from this spot he could see a lone figure crawling across the drill field under the scorching sun.

Two ropes were tied to his body, with a car tire attached at the end as weight.

He Zhen Tao poured another cup of water, brought it to the window, and said: 'This brat Kang Changyi's old habit flared up again this morning—he can't keep his position straight and keeps talking back.'

'Lu Yang, to fix his foul habit of talking back, pulled him out and assigned him a special training task.'

'Dragging the tire and crawling forward, six laps forward, six laps backward—finish whenever you finish.'

Ma Qing'an frowned slightly: 'Will this method work? Looking at it, doesn't it seem a bit like corporal punishment?'

Although he also disliked Kang Changyi, this good-for-nothing, Lu Yang is only the acting platoon leader.

If he goes too far and Division Chief of Staff Xiong finds out, I worry it'll affect Lu Yang's prospects.

He Zhen Tao calmly said: 'Some soldiers respond to reason; with others, you say one thing and they talk back ten.'

'For someone like Kang Changyi, just scolding him a few times and stripping his rank isn't enough—you have to completely crush his self-esteem.'

'You weren't here this morning; Lu Yang came to ask me for permission. He wants to spend a day running an experiment to see if Kang Changyi can still be saved, and if not, just give up and let him fend for himself.'

'What do you mean?' Ma Qing'an didn't get it: 'You mean Lu Yang deliberately set up an apparently impossible task just to test him?'

Hmm.

He Zhen Tao: 'Lu Yang told him: If you still consider yourself a soldier, do it for everyone to see—prove you're not a coward.'

Ma Qing'an: 'Will that make him obey?'

'Maybe after suffering a setback, he also wants to prove himself.'

'Oh, seen this way, does this kid still have a bit of backbone?'

Ma Qing'an found this rather surprising.

Being able to be provoked by Lu Yang's goading shows he still has some self-respect and cares about face.

Not being self-destructive or throwing a tantrum suggests there might still be hope.

'Which lap is this?'

'The second lap.'

'Already starting to crawl backward this fast?'

Ma Qing'an was greatly shocked: 'This kid can do it—after being provoked by Lu Yang, he's practically exploding with inner power!'

He Zhen Tao rolled his eyes so hard they almost went to the ceiling: 'He's still on the second lap forward, and it looks like he's only just finished the first lap and just started the second!'

'When did he start?'

'Maybe two hours ago.'

'Damn, two hours to crawl one lap—is he paralyzed or missing limbs? I'd bet even a turtle would beat him!'

Ma Qing'an almost spat out a mouthful of old blood; he thought Kang Changyi was finally acting like a man, but he turned out to be more effeminate than a woman!

Even dragging a tire, he shouldn't take two hours for one lap—he's just dragging his feet!

All talk and no action—he's a midget in deed!

Ma Qing'an sighed and shook his head: 'No hope, simply no hope.'

He Zhen Tao grunted: 'We can't—let's jointly submit a request to the regiment to see if we can transfer him out. It's fine if he doesn't try, but we can't let him hold back our company.'

'You, have you heard the rumors too?'

'What?'

'Never mind, nothing.'

'Why are you speaking half-sentences? Is there something you can't say?'

'Nothing.'

Ma Qing'an's evasive attitude made He Zhen Tao very suspicious.

Thinking that he went to the regiment today to handle business, he couldn't help wondering if something had happened in the regiment.

'Be honest—has something happened in the regiment?'

'Eh, I've only heard rumors; I don't know if they're true.'

'What exactly is going on?'

'I've heard, don't tell anyone else—next year our division might, just possibly, have some regiments reorganized into the navy system.'

'True or false, is the rumor reliable?'

'I don't know—I heard it from my sister too; she went to the division's medical team to give the commander a shot and overheard it by chance.'

He Zhen Tao's brows knotted: 'With so many regiments in the division, it's not necessarily ours.'

Ma Qing'an also felt a headache: 'I don't know—if you're not selected, you're not; if you are, it's a hundred percent chance. I'm worried too—I'm a landlubber who can't swim.'

Now I'm the same too!

Hope we don't get selected; I still feel more at ease inland; I've heard the seaside has strong winds and waves, lots of rain, and the weather changes at a moment's notice......

As the words fell, a sudden muffled drum boom rang in my ears, and then the sky flashed.

The two looked up at the window, and the sky had suddenly darkened at some point.

Is it thundering?

He Zhen Tao pulled open the window.

A wind mixed with the smell of lime plaster blew in.

Several bean-sized raindrops fell on the windowsill, then it began to patter down.

Summer rain is like a child's temper: it cries when it wants to, and it rages when it wants to.

On the track, Kang Changyi, who was still pretending to work hard, was completely dazed.

He never expected that heaven itself would join in kicking him when he's down.

He had just been dismissed in the morning, targeted by Lu Yang in the afternoon, and then this rain came, soaking him to the skin.

In such heavy rain, he actually wanted to find an excuse to slip away, but thinking of returning to the Third Squad, he'd be mocked by Zhou Kaidong and the others as a spineless wimp, and Kang Changyi couldn't swallow that indignity.

We're all men; who wants to be called a coward?

What's more, he's an officer with four and a half years of service.

Kang Changyi's heart began to waver between fleeing and persevering.

Running away, though shameful, is indeed effective.

Persevering, though painful, lets me give Lu Yang a hard slap in the face and shut up those who look down on me.

After much hesitation, he ultimately chose to stay and continue, not just because he held a grudge.

Moreover, because it's raining, friction is reduced, making it much easier to get up than before.

Six laps forward, six laps backward; with the rain's effect, perhaps only half the effort is needed to finish.

"This isn't kicking someone when they're down at all—it's clearly a blessing from heaven!"

"Kang Changyi, you're really a genius—master math and science and you'll fear nothing under heaven!"

"I climb, I climb, I climb climb climb... I'm a big gecko!"

Watching the suddenly vigorous figure in the rain, Lu Yang stood in the dormitory hallway with his hands in his pockets, calm.

Zhou Kaidong walked over and said: "I thought he'd give up, but I didn't expect that the more adverse the situation, the more it arouses his fighting spirit."

Lu Yang: "The coefficient of sliding friction depends only on the material and the roughness of the contact surface, not on the contact area."

"What does that mean?"

"The heavier the rain, the slicker the track, the less friction between tire and ground, and the less effort required."

"......"

Zhou Kaidong's eye twitched.

Kang Changyi, you damn bastard, you're still pretty good at keeping score!